Cambodia border security safe, says Thailand defence ministry despite lack of formal government

Thailand’s lack of a formal government will not affect border security with Cambodia, the defence ministry said Saturday, as the kingdom scrambles to fill a power vacuum following the dismissal of the prime minister by the Constitutional Court.

The Southeast Asian nation was thrown into political turmoil on Friday when the court sacked prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over her handling of a border row with Cambodia, saying she had “not upheld the ethical code of conduct”.

The ruling has left Thailand with an acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, and a caretaker cabinet which will stay on until a new government is formed as early as next week.

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On Saturday morning the acting cabinet held a special meeting confirming the arrangement, with no new major announcements.

Deputy Defence Minister Natthapon Nakpanich said having an acting government would “not affect” the country’s ability to safeguard its sovereignty amid a fragile ceasefire at the border with Cambodia.

“It’s not a problem. The army chief has already assigned responsibilities to handle specific situations,” he told reporters.

Court ruling

Paetongtarn, daughter of billionaire ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was suspended from office last month after being accused of failing to stand up for Thailand in a June call with powerful former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, which was leaked online.

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In July, tensions between Thailand and Cambodia spiralled into the two sides’ deadliest military clashes in decades, with more than 40 people killed and 300,000 forced to flee their homes along the border.

Thailand and Cambodia’s leaders agreed to an “unconditional” ceasefire at the end of July, after five days of combat along their jungle-clad frontier.

A nine-judge panel in the Constitutional Court ruled by six to three on Friday that Paetongtarn had not upheld the ethical standards required of a prime minister and removed her from office.

The ruling, which also dissolved her cabinet, came a year after the same court ousted her predecessor as prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, in an unrelated ethics case.

Paetongtarn was the sixth prime minister from the political movement founded by her father to face judgment by the Constitutional Court.

Parliament will vote on a new prime minister perhaps as early as next week, but there is no obvious replacement for Paetongtarn waiting to take over.

Parties have been eager to meet and strategise ways to secure a majority vote in parliament for their own candidates.

Under the constitution, only candidates nominated for prime minister at the last general election in 2023 are eligible.

Four of those names are out of the running, three of whom are banned by court order and one whose party failed to get enough MPs elected to qualify.

The remaining four include Prayut Chan-O-Cha, an ex-general who led a 2014 coup and served as prime minister until 2023, and Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai party which was a former partner in Paetongtarn’s coalition government.